Food items are routinely sold in sealed plastic packages. The packages are typically made by vertical-form-fill-and-seal devices such that a web of flexible film material is formed into a tube. This tube is sealed on one end and then filled with the package contents. The second end is then also cut and sealed to seal the contents of the package therein and then singulated. To open such a package and access the food item, a consumer can tear off and remove a portion of the package. In certain packages, such as stick-pack packages, it can be advantageous to completely remove an end of the package including the end seal to allow for the contents to be dispensed into a suitable container, for example, a cup.
Flexible film packages include various features to assist the consumer in opening the package. Some packages include a weakening of the package material along a given line such that a tear can propagate along that line when a user opens the package. A disadvantage of such packages is that the tear does not always follow the weakened line. Instead, the tear can deviate from the desired propagation path delineated by the weakened line.
It is known to make the weakened lines in the packages using a laser. The laser can ablate the package material along a line across the package without cutting entirely through the package material. Frequently, the package is so weakened by the laser scoring that the package loses its structural integrity and does not stay intact during its vertical-form-fill-and-seal manufacturing process, and sometimes even during normal handling by a user before the package is intended to be opened. In packages where the laser scoring is less deep to preserve the tensile strength of the package, the score line can be less pronounced in the side wall and can be difficult for a user to see. To make a laser score more visible for a consumer, printing indicia on the package can highlight the laser score. For example, the package may have the words “TEAR HERE” and an arrow pointing to the laser score printed thereon. However, when the laser score is applied after printing, alignment of the indicia and the laser score line may not coincide.